Pancreatitis food recommendations?

[Noreen612]

Hi all. My baby had diarrhea and vomiting and ended up at the vet last night. They took bloodwork which we are awaiting the results of but doctor thinks likely pancreatitis. We have her on a bland chicken and rice diet for now and they prescribed antibiotics and meds for the vomiting. If she has the pancreatitis I know she has to be on low fat foods. I’m not a huge fan of the rx foods out there such as Hills and Royal Canin but will use them if vet suggests it. Any other suggestions that people use for this? Also, she loves her bully sticks. I assume those will be no longer allowed if this is what she has? Thank you.

[Lisa and Pic]

I am so sorry about your pup being sick. My precious Piccolo (RIP) had pancreatitis two or three times in her 14 year life with the first about three years old. We used an RX food but eventually was able to switch over after about a year or so. I was also able to give her bully sticks after about a year. Hope your pup gets better soon.

[Britster]

Hello, my Jackson has been through pancreatitis a few times. He is 12 now and still active and crazy as ever. But the attacks and flare ups can be so scary. Sorry you had go through it.

If it works for your pup, Royal Canin GI low fat is a great option. It didn't work for Jackson but he is a super anomaly. We've been to specialists, he's had ultrasounds, etc.... there was one point where he had diarrhea for 2 months straight (only symptom) with no real resolve, guess was IBD but we no longer believe he has a protein sensitivity, anywayyy it's a long story but here is what we do:

for the actual pancreatitis, it's always clear to me when it's a flare up. He stops eating (Jackson is a cow and will eat anything and everything if left to his own devices. When he stops eating, it's not good). This has only happened 3 times in 12 years where he stops eating. He also usually presents with lots of vomiting and diarrhea. One attack he simply stopped eating though and vomited once, so nothing extreme. I have learned if I get Cerenia (anti nausea med) in him ASAP it helps. If he has already stopped eating food, I get him to the vet asap for anti nausea shot and sub-q fluids. If you are on top of it, I find they recover quicker.

I am assuming your vet gave you Cerenia and metronidazole, which is pretty standard treatment. I would keep those meds on hand for the future *just in case*. My vet also has us keep Pepcid A/C on hand (famotidine). Jackson is bigger at 18lbs so he takes 1/2 tablet of 10 mg as needed. If I hear any weird tummy grumbles, I give one as a preventative.

My guy just cannot digest kibble anymore. Even low fat. Last year we switched to 100% canned food (we feed Weruva - their website shows a detailed analysis of the nutritional info, which is VERY important for pancreatitis pups, we feed Grandmas Chicken Soup and Cirque de le Mer). Many people think canned food is lower in fat because if you read the label you may see "4%" fat, you think it's low, but you need to account for moisture. It *must* be converted to dry matter basis (they have calculators that help with this, such as: https://www.pawdiet.com/articles/dry...-for-pet-food/ ) or you have to email the company directly. Some vets don't even really know about this, so something to keep in mind (I know I had ZERO clue about any of this during Jackson's first pancreatitis). You want to aim for 10% fat DMB or less at first but there are other factors as well. For ex: Jackson does better on a wet food with approx 12% fat DMB than he did on a dry food with 7.5% fat.

Also in the future I always just go right for the SpecCPL test at the vets to test for pancreatitis. It's pretty darn accurate and I don't see a reason not to do it if it can give me a more definitive answer. Regular bloodwork usually would show amylase and lipase being high in the case of pancreatitis but it's NOT always the best way to diagnosis it IMO.

I wouldn't really do bully sticks personally. You might be able to find a few acceptable treats once she recovers though!

I really really hope this didn't overwhelm you! I know it can be a LOT at first to think about it. Try not to stress yourself out too much. Your pup seems like she got proper treatment right away and I am sure she will live a long happy life.

[Ellie May]

You are right on the bully sticks.

Totally understandable that rx foods aren’t you go-to. I didn’t like them either. In fact, I home cooked for my Yorkie. She had a few bouts of pancreatitis. However, she also had severe food allergies, SIBO, IBD, esophagus problems, a slight liver issue, etc. Then she became reactive to every protein. So we had to go to a hydrolyzed rx food (Purina HA).

Just keep in mind that even if you find an OTC food that is low fat, that is not the only requirement. Some nutritionists believe high protein can also be a problem. Also, food manufacturers report fat and protein minimums (not maximums). If it is not a highly controlled productions (as in the rx foods), this can vary way too much.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

You are right on the bully sticks.

Totally understandable that rx foods aren’t you go-to. I didn’t like them either. In fact, I home cooked for my Yorkie. She had a few bouts of pancreatitis. However, she also had severe food allergies, SIBO, IBD, esophagus problems, a slight liver issue, etc. Then she became reactive to every protein. So we had to go to a hydrolyzed rx food (Purina HA).

Just keep in mind that even if you find an OTC food that is low fat, that is not the only requirement. Some nutritionists believe high protein can also be a problem. Also, food manufacturers report fat and protein minimums (not maximums). If it is not a highly controlled productions (as in the rx foods), this can vary way too much.

Totally. Yes! I forgot to include about the min/max in my post as well.

I'm so appreciative to you and everything I've learned over the years from you.
It's so complex sometimes and what makes it even worse is every dog is different.

I actually really wish Jackson made my life simple and he would've just done fine on the RC low fat or Purina EN. Or something that I wouldn't have to worry about.

I got myself freaked out over the DCM issue with grain-free and started getting paranoid about feeding Weruva so I decided to buy the Royal Canin PW moderate calorie kibble to start adding in again since he had eaten it before (the reason I took him off was after bouts of nausea he began having for a week straight and once I took him off the kibble, it stopped, but I thought it may have been coincidental).

Well... two months ago I buy a bag of the RC PW. Very slowly start adding it in to his diet (I'm talking like 2 kibbles one evening, hand fed). Then the next day increased a bit more. etc etc. After like 7 days I was up to like... 1/2 cup (not all at once, piece by piece throughout the day). Then he woke me up one morning, ate his normal breakfast but hesitantly for him (slower than usual) then proceeded to throw it up 5 mins later. Then he stopped eating and avoided food for the rest of the day. Immediately called our vet who knows him and his history so did an emerg. appt. and the CPL was increased just enough for him to believe pancreatitis episode. After Cerenia injection and subq fluids he was back to normal within 48 hours. But my vet is stumped on Jackson too lol. He was like I would never think a food with 7.5% fat would have caused a pancreatitis attack but he had *nothing* else new. Literally nothing. I work from home now and watch him like a hawk. And he said it's certainly not impossible and Jackson's issues have always been very weird. I wish I could find out for certain if he had an issue with grains or what (I know it's rare, but it's obviously not protein because he can eat chicken, tuna and salmon and be a-okay). And the PW rx food doesn't contain grains (fish and potato).

He's back on 100% Weruva since and again, totally doing fantastic. Not sure if it's that kibble specifically or kibble in general but yeah, not trying it again. The only thing I may resort to is consulting a board certified nutritionist and doing a BalanceIT homecooked meals. I'm already spending over $200 a month on his food lol. But I just really don't want to rock the boat when I find something that works.

ANYWHO sorry OP for hijacking your thread!
Hope all is okay with your little one.

[yorkiemini]

My Cali has chronic pancreatitis and we use the prescription diet low fat Royal a in and have never had any further flares. Works great. I will use whatever works the best for her.